Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Unprofessional Beer Review: Beer Face-Off!

Posted by
Adam Parker

In the first corner, we have Three Philosophers. This beer is a belgian-style ale mixed with cherry-Lambic. In the other corner, we have Mikkeller. Mikkeller is an oatmeal stout brewed with coffee. Some might say that comparing these two beers in a head-to-head face-off is not only unfair, but is like comparing apples to oranges. Well to them I say, "This is the Unprofessional Beer Review. Since when have we cared about proper beer etiquette or fairness!?"

On to Three Philosophers. Interestingly enough, for me, this beer starts off with an unfair advantage because Belgian Ales happen to be my favorite type of beer. First impressions are quite strong. An excellent cream-colored head and dark amber color. The beer is not heavily filtered and is well-balanced; this is a good ale. The thing which really sets this beer apart, however, is its prominent cherry flavor. This is due to the fact that the beer is 98% belgian ale and 2% cherry-Lambic. With an alcohol content of 9.8%, I was surprised that the alcohol taste was not at all prominent; it was very balanced. Overall, my impression of this beer is that it is delicious, with a tremendous twist on the traditional belgian ale.

Next up is Mikkeller. This is an intimidatingly dark beer. It is darker and thicker than Guinness; seriously. The head is thick and dark. The smell is sweet and strong with a clear coffee smell. The taste is immediately delicious; not a hint of bitterness like I find with Guinness. There is no aftertaste. The coffee taste is as prevalent as is the smell. The oatmeal influence in the brew is very faint, but it is present.

It's a bit unfair to choose between these two beers since they are each meant to be something far different from the other. In this face-off, however, I am choosing Mikkeller if nothing else than for the reason that it is so dramatically interesting. I'm sure there are seasoned beer drinkers who have been there and done that in relation to beers like this, but Mikkeller is something so interesting that I have to hand it the fight. Each drink tastes different from the last, and for such variety, Mikkeller wins!

[For the record, this conclusion was shared unanimously between myself and three others who were involved in the fellowshipping and beer tasting as well.]